Half-way through the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship and the only thing that's
certain is the competition has become more intense than ever.

Few points separate the series leaders in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock, and as teams head to
scenic Maple Grove Raceway for the 29th annual Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals, Oct. 3-6, each and every
one of the Countdown-eligible teams in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will be racing hard
to firmly establish themselves as championship contenders.

Khalid alBalooshi (Top Fuel), Mike Neff (Funny Car), V Gaines (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro
Stock Motorcycle) were last season's event winners. The race will also be televised on ESPN2HD. It
is the fourth of six playoff events in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the
Championship.

In Funny Car, Matt Hagan's lead was trimmed to six points by a resurgent John Force who won in St.
Louis. Hagan, the 2011 world champ who has led the standings since early June in his
Magneti/Marelli Dodge Charger, is very determined to hang on to his front-running position.

Mix in the reputation Maple Grove Raceway has earned over the years as a place where the world's
fastest race cars can generate record-setting performances and the atmosphere is sure to be
electric.

"I'm looking forward to Reading," Hagan said. "I think it's going to be cool conditions and there's
going to be an opportunity to run fast and there may even be a world record set there like we saw
last year, so that's pretty exciting."

John Force

Hagan, who has seen John Force get on a hot streak in the playoffs and overtake him for a
championship title in 2010, is determined to not let history repeat itself this year. Hagan's team
has won four races and been extremely consistent all year long led by veteran crew chief Dickie
Venables.

"I told all of my guys to take a deep breath this week and chill and when we get to Reading we'll
put our game face on and go racing," Hagan said. "We need to let everyone else worry about the
points. We are still the points leaders and we can win this thing."

Force, who is going for his 16th world championship, was energized after winning in St. Louis. The
64-year-old NHRA icon has won six times at Maple Grove, but his last victory there came in 2001.
With new crew chief Jimmy Prock calling the shots on his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang and working
alongside the entire Force Racing "Braintrust," Force seems more ready than ever to win again in
Pennsylvania and keep battling the "kids" as he calls them, for another Funny Car crown.

"I have been guilty of getting overloaded and not focusing on my race car, (but) now I have people
working for me (who are chasing new sponsorship) so I can focus on winning," Force said, "because
you have to live this race car every day."

Several other drivers remain in title contention in the incredibly competitive Funny Car class,
including defending world champ Jack Beckman, Robert Hight, Cruz Pedregon, Ron Capps and Courtney
Force. Beckman was the No. 1 qualifier at Reading last year and was one of the drivers involved in
the national record performance parade. He remains winless this season, but is third overall, 44
points out of the lead in his Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger.

"The problem is we keep opening the door wide open for ourselves and then we fail to take full
advantage of it," said Beckman, a three-time runner-up this season. "We have to win a race if we
are going to win the championship. We are probably going to have to win two of the last three
races. I guess the upside is we have a car that can do it."

Shawn Langdon

In Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon created some distance in the series standings by earning a bunch of
qualifying bonus points and the No. 1 qualifying position in St. Louis. He exited the race early,
however so did several other primary contenders at the top of the series standings.

Like every one of his Top Fuel challengers, five-time season winner Langdon is eager to get back on
the fast track at The Grove.

"Reading has the capability of being a throw-down race so we are going to be prepared for that
possibility when we arrive," Langdon said. "We want the Al-Anabi car to be ready because if there's
an opportunity to get a national ET (elapsed time) record and pick up those extra 20 bonus points,
we want to be the ones to do it."

Langdon leads Doug Kalitta by 33 points and Spencer Massey by 35. Morgan Lucas is 45 points back
and Tony Schumacher is 72 out of first. Last season's Reading runner-up and national record holder,
Antron Brown, also moved back into the championship picture, as his St. Louis victory put him 102
points out of the lead. With all of the tough competition for the championship, Langdon said it was
critical for his team to regain the series lead at Gateway.

"The Al-Anabi team left St. Louis with the points lead so with three races to go, we are in control
of our own destiny, and that is how we want it," Langdon said. "In the grand scheme of things, the
Al-Anabi car is very strong right now, and we are very excited to be going to Reading this
weekend."

Mike Edwards

In Pro Stock, Countdown top seed Mike Edwards got off to a slow start in the Countdown, but
regained the points lead with a runner-up finish in St. Louis. The Oklahoma native has never won at
Maple Grove in two final round appearances there. He is going to be tested by a host of hungry
challengers in the factory hot rod division, including second place Jeg Coughlin, a three-time
winner at Reading who trails Edwards by 10 points, two-time world champ Jason Line, who is 30
points back of the leader, St. Louis winner Erica Enders-Stevens and defending world champ Allen
Johnson.

"It is going to be a dogfight to the very end," Edwards said. "The Pro Stock championship is going
to come down to the last race, and we just need to return to our pre-Countdown form and we will be
just fine."

Matt Smith zoomed into the series lead in Pro Stock Motorcycle, taking it away from season-long
leader Hector Arana Jr. with a victory in St. Louis. Smith holds a 75-point lead over Arana Jr. and
Hector Arana Sr., who are tied for second place on their Lucas Oil Buells. Michael Ray and
defending champ Krawiec are also still within striking range in the points order. Smith, the 2007
world champ, who won at Maple Grove in 2008 feels very confident about his chances of winning a
second world championship aboard his Viper Motorcycle Company Buell.

"We've had a dominant bike this year," Smith said. "I feel like I've got the bike to beat and as
long as we don't have any problems, I think we'll be fine. This Viper Motorsports bike is pretty
bad. We'll just see what happens the last three races."

Matt Smith

As always, every ticket purchased for the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals is a pit pass, which offers an
extraordinary look behind the scenes in the world of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. This
unique opportunity in motorsports gives fans direct access to the teams, allowing them to see
firsthand the highly skilled mechanics service their race machines between rounds, and enjoy some
cherished face time with their favorite NHRA drivers.

The Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals qualifying opens on Friday, Oct. 4, with sessions at 1:15 and 4:15
p.m. The final two qualifying sessions will take place Saturday, Oct. 5, at 11:15 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6.

For tickets and other great ticket offers for the Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals, please call Maple Grove
Raceway at (610) 856-9200 or visit www.maplegroveraceway.com.